Laundry counting device



Feb. 28, 1956 R. P. cALoU LAUNDRY COUNTING DEVICE Filed June 4, 1952 JNVENTOR. Raymond Ca/oa ECA/Hoff Suc/f, Affys.

,4 member' aff/7e f/rm t c 2,736,495 United States Patent O ce med Feb, ,8, 5,

Figure is a perspective view of the hold-down device of Figure 4.

LAUNDRY COUNTHNG DEVECE Raymond P. Calou, Oakland, Calif. Application .lune 4, 1952, Serial No. 291,661

3 Claims. (Cl. 23S-Jig) This invention relates to a novel counting machine which is particularly adapted for use in counting pieces of soiled linen.

Many commercial laundries make a practice of conducting a towel and napkin rental service wherein the laundry agrees to supply various business firms with their requirements of napkins and towels. When such towels and napkins are returned, they must be counted to make sure of the number of pieces to be charged for. Heretofore, it has been the practice to first sort the soiled linen into a series of piles, each of which contains only a single type of article and then count each pile.

The machine of the present invention is adapted to count soiled linen and, further, in the case of a multiple lane machine, it also serves as a sorting table. In other words, by having as many lanes on the machine as there are types of articles to be counted, an operator with a single motion can sort, as well as count, the articles.

l am aware that others have proposed machines in the past for counting laundry, but such machines have proved to be unsuccessful because of their inability to count very small or iight articles. For instance, in some of the machines the articles are passed along a belt and upon striking a gate or trigger mechanism, thev piece is counted. This works well with relatively heavy pieces of new material, but for very light materials, such as well worn napkins, such machines frequently miscount. The counting machine of the present invention is very sensitive and will count extremely light articles. in fact, the machine will count ordinary facial tissues.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a machine for counting linen which is very sensitive and which will count pieces of light weight.

Another object of this invention is to provide an accurate machine for counting linen which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and foolproof in itsoperation.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a laundry counting machine having a number of lanes whereby the counting machine serves as a sorting device as well as a counting device.

In general, l accomplish the objects of this invention by providing a machine having a number of belts adapted to carry pieces of linen, with a rotating device over the belts to press the article to be counted into contact with the belts and a trigger mechanism located adjacent the belts.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification:

Figure l is a perspective View of a preferred form of my device wherein two separate counting lanes are provided.

Figure 2 is a View, in side elevation, showing one form of hold-down device, and one form of trigger mechanism.

Figure 3 is a sectional View ofthe hold-down device and trigger on the line 3 3 Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of another form of hold-down device and trigger which may be used for the purposes of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings by reference characters, there is shown a laundry counting machine having a frame structure generally indicated at 6, a prime mover 8 and intermediate belt drive 10 adapted to drive a series of conveying belts 12. As is shown in the drawing, the belts 12 pass over two pulleys designated 14 and 16, which are mounted on shafts on the frame 6. Pulley 14 is a driven pulley, while pulley 16 is an idler pulley. Mounted over the belts 12 are two bins 18 and 20 which extend over about half the length of the belts, and which divide the series of belts 12 into two lanes, as is shown. In the embodiment illustrated, there are eight belts 12, so that each bin covers four belts. It is of course apparent that a larger or smaller number of belts may be used in each lane.

The bins 18 and 20 have ends designated 22, which extend to within about an inch or two of the belts 12. Thus, these ends 22 of the bins prevent articles of unusually large size from passing into the counting mechanism. The ends 22 further tend to smooth down any irregularly shaped articles, such as a bunched up napkin.

Mounted over the exposed surfaces of the belts 12 are the hold-down belts and their supporting structure generally designated 24. One hold-down belt 23 is provided to correspond with each belt 12. The belts are rotatably mounted on rollers 25 and 26. Each of the rollers 25 and 26 has a bearing 27 at each end, allowing it to revolve around the stub shafts 28, which are attached to the frame 30. The frame member 30, and its counterpart on the other side of the machine, have a stub shaft 32 extending therefrom. The shaft 32 is retained in place by guides 36, which permit the shaft 32 to rotate and move in a restricted vertical direction but which retains the shaft from horizontal movement. Thus, the frame 30 can move freely up and down and can pivot on the shaft 32 so each belt 23 can be displaced upwardly when an object is encountered on the belt 12, yet will always be in Contact with either the belt itself or an object carried thereon. A bar 38 extends between frame 30 and its corresponding member on the opposite side of the machine, to hold the two corresponding frames in alignment and to serve as a support for a series of belt guides 40 which retain the upper belts in their correct spaced relationship.

Mounted on the frame 6 of the machine by means of suitable brackets 42 are rods 44. One rod 44 is used for each lane which is to be counted. In other Words, two separate rods would be used on the two-lane machine illustrated. Between each pair of belts 12 for a lane an actuating trigger 46 is provided. This actuating trigger 4o' is preferably shaped as is shown in Figure 2, namely its upper surface is in the form of a segment of a circle. It will be noted that trigger 46 is of solid construction. This is a distinct advantage since the solid construction lessens the possibility of articles catching thereon such as might be encountered with a trigger consisting of a rod. One trigger is used between each pair of belts so that on a machine having four belts per lane, three triggers 46 on a common rod 44 would be provided. Also fastened to the rotatable rod 44 is an arm 48, to which is attached, through any suitable linkage, a counter 50. The counter 50 may be of the mechanical type illustrated in Figure 2, but preferably is an electric actuated type such as that described in connection with Figure 4. If an electrical counter were used the arm 48 would be used to actuate a sensitive electrical switch, commonly called a microswitch. A stationary shoe 52 supports the belts 12 at the midpoint between the rollers 25 and 26. The shoe 52 has central cut-out portions 53 to permit the trigger 46 to extend through the shoe, and at side of each cut-out portion and at its ends has sides 55 to hold the belt in place. A spring 54 urges the trigger 46 upwardly between the belts, while a stop 56 limits its upward travel. In operation, as an article comes through the counting mechanism, the trigger 46 is depressed by the article and registered on the counter 50.

Alternate forms may be used for either the hold-down device or the trigger mechanism. An alternate form of both is illustrated in Figure 4. In this embodiment of the invention, the hold-down device is a roller 58, which extends across the belts 12. The roller has a series of thick iiat rubber tires 60, one tire being provided for each of the belts 12. Each tire has substantially the same width as one of the belts 12. The roller 58 has a stub shaft 64 which is mounted between guides 62, much in the same manner as the shaft 32 in the rst embodiment of the invention illustrated. With this method of mounting, the shaft 64, and the roller 58, carried by the shaft, iide freely up and down between the guides 62 and thus the roller is revolved by the belts and kept in contact therewith except at such times that an article passes along the belt 12. A shoe 66 is provided under the belt 12 to prevent the belt from being displaced by the weight of the roller 5S. This shoe can be substantially the same as the shoe 52.

The trigger mechanism proper has a shaft 68, a stop 70 and a spring 72 urging an arm 74 against the stop 70. Mounted on the arm 74 is a freely rotating disc 76 pivoted on shaft 78 of arm 74. Ordinarily, the disc 76 would not rotate, but at the time an article passes along the belt 12 the wheel will rotate and instead of sliding along the article, as does trigger 46, the wheel 76 will merely roll along it. In rolling along the article, it will, of course, depress the arm 74. Mounted on the shaft 68 is a cam 80 which serves to actuate a sensitive microswitch 82. The microswitch 82 is connected to an electric indicating mechanism S4, so that each time the switch S2 is closed, the indicating mechanism 84 will be advanced one digit. Of course, the shaft 68, would ordinarily carry several triggers, i. e. one between each two of the belts 12 which constitute a single lane.

On the two lane machine illustrated, a double counter is used, one counting mechanism being actuated by the switch for a single lane.

Preferably, a light S6 is provided on the machine and connected to the same circuit as the counter. Thus, as the counter is actuated, the light 86 will be flashed on. This is a valuable feature of the invention for the reason that the counting mechanism might conceivably stick in L closed position. The operator, seeing the light on continuously, would know immediately that the machine was no longer indicating individual pulses, and could immediately take steps to correct it. Instead of the light, an audible warning signal may be used. l

Although' the counter mechanism 84 is shown as mounted on frame 6, it does not need to be mounted at this location and it is often advantageous to mount an electric counter at some distance from the machine.

In describing the invention, I have shown an endless belt hold-down device in conjunction with a solid trigger. However, the roller hold-down device, shown in Figure 4, may be used with the trigger shown in Figure 2, or the rotating trigger may be used with the endless belt holddown device of Figure 2. Similarly, an electrical indicator can be used in place of the mechanical counter of Figure 2, or vice versa. In addition, one can use a combination of electrical and mechanical mechanisms. For instance, one can use the mechanical counter shown in Figure 2 and also equip the device with a microswitch, as illustrated in Figure 4, utilizing the mechanical counter for a counting mechanism and the microswitch for the light, or audible warning, operating mechanism.

l claim:

l. A machine for counting soft, exible articles comprising at least two parallel, endless conveying belts, a rotating device mounted over said belts and normally in Contact therewith whereby an article carried by said conveying belts will pass between said belts and said rotating device and a trigger extending between said belts at a point of contact between said rotating device and said belts, said trigger having an upwardly extending, re-entrant, arcuate, contact surface with solid side wall extending downward below said belts, said trigger being depressed by material passing between the endless conveying belts and the rotating device, said trigger actuating a counting mechanism when depressed.

2. The counting device of claim 1 wherein the rotating device consists of a pair of spaced pulleys with short endless belts therebetween, said short endless belts corresponding in number and width to the endless conveying belts.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the rotating means consist of a pulley having a plurality of flat peripheral faces, said faces corresponding in width and number to the endless conveying belts.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 897,485 Picken Sept. 1, 1908 1,230,196 Merriman et al. June 19, 1917 1,544,860 Reisbach July 7, 1925 1,720,495 Steiner et al. July 9, 1929 1,967,732 Ahlburg July 24, 1934 2,275,964 Johnson Mar. 10, 1942 2,486,117 Clark Oct. 25, 1949 2,486,118 Clark Oct. 25, 1949 2,493,464 Nelson Jan. 3, 1950 2,503,670 Hilberry Apr. 11, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 384,927 Great Britain Dec. 15, 1932 

